Rashid Mahmood Langrial appointed FBR chairman

The federal government has appointed Rashid Mahmood Langrial, the Federal Secretary for Energy, as the new chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

The government issued a notification for Langrial's appointment on Wednesday.

A Grade 21 officer, Langrial was previously serving as Secretary of the Power Division.

Sources had earlier indicated that the government was finalising the appointment of the new FBR chairman after Malik Amjad Zubair Tiwana had sought an early retirement from service after he could not reconcile with the Prime Minister's Office – a move that opened a race for his replacement from within and outside the tax machinery.

Tiwana had sought retirement with effect from August 15th – six months ahead of reaching the age of superannuation.

Also read: FBR chief seeks early retirement

Tiwana had been contemplating premature retirement even before the budget because of constant pressure and meddling from the Prime Minister's Office. However, he withheld the decision due to the budget exercise and the talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Experts believe it will not be an easy task for the new chairman to run the FBR given the direct intervention of the Prime Minister's Office, ongoing McKenzie project and more importantly to collect Rs13 trillion taxes by showing a 40% increase in the collection under the IMF umbrella.